Tag Archives: Fun Money

Money Training Begins at Home

I have actually met many parents who are resistant to really teaching their kids about money. Why is that? Some don’t give allowances because they then lose control over what their kids get to buy. Okay, but… how can your kids learn?? Putting your head in the sand about money won’t help your problems or teach your kids. Children need to learn good money management from their parents. Some basic financial concepts taught as early as the preschool years are short-term vs. long-term goals, delayed gratification, value of money and the power of saving. While these sound complicated; they are … Continue reading →

Don’t Bail Your Kids Out

As parents, our initial gut reaction is to rescue our children. While in many instances, this can be a good thing. When it comes to money, it is usually better not to step in. Kids need to learn from an early age that managing money is their responsibility. Not that mom or dad will bail them out if they don’t have quite enough. Unfortunately this financial reliance on parents doesn’t always go away as children grow. When it comes to money matters, you usually need to teach them to be independent. No doubt kids learn quickly that money can buy … Continue reading →

Reward Points for Kids

Finding a system of allowances and chores for kids can be mind boggling. Then add the complication of differing parenting opinions on the subject, and you are sure to throw your hands up in frustration. Often parents use the combination of chores and allowance to teach kids responsibility and reward good behavior. This process can become lengthy and time consuming, almost to the point of losing the whole lesson altogether. As most of us parents know, once the idea becomes cumbersome and confusing… kids usually tune out. Let me give you an example. A friend of mine wanted to offer … Continue reading →

Budgets for Kids

As your children grow older, it is important to introduce additional money strategies. While they live in your home, it is the perfect opportunity to teach them critical financial skills that can help them as they move on in the world. Once your children can grasp the concepts of allowances, saving, and tracking spending, the next step is to teach them some basic budget skills. Older kids may even enjoy doing this on the computer. Start by first sitting down with your children and show them your budgeting system. Talk together about the whys and whats of a budget. Explore … Continue reading →

The Gimmes

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It’s often hard for young kids to separate a need from a want. As parents, it’s our responsibility to help them learn to decipher on their own this difference. Tyler has developed a case of the gimmes. As we plan for our return to New Orleans, part of this planning involves having to totally restock our home including his bedroom, of course. As such, he has come up with a list of items that he wants. Notice I said “want” not “need”. Some of these items include a candy machine, a file cabinet, a 40-inch plasma TV and a paper … Continue reading →

Parent Bank

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Once your kids are old enough to write, you may want to consider the idea of opening up a local parent bank. What is a parent bank you say? Well, it is a fun and informative way to teach kids about money and the banking process, as well as curbing the “impulse buy.” Often kids feel money just burns a hole in their pockets. When the day comes they finally get some, they can’t wait to get out and spend. It doesn’t really even matter what they are buying, they just want to spend. Sound familiar? This is a common … Continue reading →

My Two Year Old Asked for Money!

Today my two-year-old turned to me and asked for money. He knows what it is–the green paper and the coins that he wants to carry around. I am sure that he does not quite know what to do with the money yet. He did learn recently that if you put it in a machine that candy comes out, but other than that he really does not have the concept down yet. One reason that he is so aware of money is that he wants to do everything that big sister does. She has an allowance, chores, and the desire to … Continue reading →

Talking To Your Children About Saving Money

Many parents think that discussing money issues with children is not okay. However, I completely disagree. Now, let me clarify that statement first. If you are having severe money difficulties, or you are going through something that might cause your child extreme worry or anxiety (perhaps having a house foreclosed on, or a car repossessed), it is best not to discuss this with a child. They will not completely understand how big all this is, and they will undergo an extreme amount of worry and fear, wondering when things will start being taken away from them. However, in the same … Continue reading →

Steps To Teaching Your Children To Save Money

Teaching our children to save money, is certainly not an easy task. In fact, it is one that sometimes requires careful planning and a whole lot of repetitive discussing. Children don’t come programmed understanding finances and budgets. In fact, they come programmed with a “I want that” attitude. Completely normal. But how do you break your child of their I want that attitude, and work on teaching them to save money? It isn’t as hard as you think. It entails several different steps or processes and it means keeping at them consistently. Children learn by watching and also by doing. … Continue reading →

Teaching Your Kids To Be Fiscally Fit

When Tyler announced recently that “we’re not poor”, I realized that perhaps it was time to start teaching him the value of money. At first I couldn’t understand why he would say such a thing, then I realized that in his mind we’re not poor. He also mentioned that “poor people don’t have money”. Because he basically gets what he wants he assumes we have money. No attempts to persuade him otherwise has worked so, actions speak louder than words, as they say. So for 2007 I’ve made a resolution to teach Tyler that although we’re not as poor as … Continue reading →